Park sights in Chicago
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A
Northerly Island
A bit further south from the Adler Planetarium and 12th St Beach, Northerly Island was once the busy commuter airport known as Meigs Field. Now it’s a prairie-grassed park with walking trails, fishing, bird-watching and the (allegedly temporary) Charter One Pavilion outdoor concert venue. The shift from runway to willowy grasses has its root in a controversial incident that reads a little like a municipal spy thriller, complete with midnight operatives and surprise bulldozings. To sum it up: Mayor Daley wanted the land for a park; businesses wanted to keep it for their private planes. A standoff ensued. Then, one dark night in March 2003, Daley fired up the heavy machin…
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B
Millennium Park
Rising up boldly from Grant Park’s northwest corner (between Monroe and Randolph Sts), Millennium Park is a treasure trove of free and arty sights. Frank Gehry’s 120ft-high swooping silver band shell anchors what is, in essence, an outdoor modern design gallery. It includes Jaume Plensa’s 50ft-high Crown Fountain, which projects video images of locals spitting out water gargoyle-style; the Gehry-designed BP Bridge that spans Columbus Dr and offers great skyline views; and the McCormick-Tribune Ice Rink, which fills with skaters in winter (and al fresco diners in summer). But the thing that has become the park’s biggest draw is ‘theBean’ – officially titled C…
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C
Wicker Park
Sure, Chicago invented the zipper and a handful of other bric-a-brac. The city’s true legacy, though, will be in a strange softball game invented here. Aptly named, 16-Inch Softball uses the same rules as normal softball, but with shorter games, a bigger, squishier ball and a complete lack of gloves or mitts on the fielders. They’ve been playing it in Chicago for over 75 years, and Wicker Park is a prime place to see the unique local sport played by die-hard fanatics. And for travelers suffering withdrawal from the pooch left at home, Wicker Park’s dog park is a great way to get in some quality canine time.
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D
Hillary Rodham Clinton Women’s Park
Fronting on Prairie Ave, with the Glessner House to the north and the Clarke House to the west, this 4-acre park is named for former first lady, now US Senator, Hillary Rodham Clinton, who grew up in suburban Park Ridge. Since she dedicated the park in 1997, landscapers have added a French garden, a fountain and winding paths. As bright as its future looks, the park has a notorious past. The Fort Dearborn massacre, in which a group of local Native Americans rebelled against the incursion of white settlers, is thought to have occurred on this very spot on August 15, 1812.
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E
Lincoln Park
The neighborhood gets its name from this park, Chicago’s largest. Its 1200 acres stretch for 6 miles, from North Ave north to Diversey Pkwy, where it narrows along the lake and continues until the end of Lake Shore Dr. The park’s many lakes, trails and paths make it an excellent place for recreation. Cross-country skiing in the winter and sunbathing in warmer months are just two of the activities Chicagoans enjoy in Lincoln Park. Many buy picnic vittles from the markets on Clark St and Diversey Pkwy.
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F
Humboldt Park
This 207-acre park, which lends its name to the surrounding neighborhood, comes out of nowhere and gobsmacks you with Mother Nature. A lagoon brushed by native plants takes up much of the green space, and birdsong flickers in the air. The 1907 Prairie School boathouse rises up from the lagoon’s edge and serves as the park’s showpiece. A gravel path takes off from here and circles the water, where you’ll sometimes see people casting fishing lines.
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G
Washington Square
This plain-looking park across from the Newberry Library has had both a colorful history and a tragic one. In the 1920s it was known as ‘Bughouse Sq’ because of the communists, socialists, anarchists and other -ists who gave soapbox orations here. Clarence Darrow and Carl Sandburg are among the respected speakers who climbed up and shouted.
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